I like my Nightstar II shaker flashlight and use it all the time. I'll probably use it in a few minutes when I go to bed. The subdued light is actually a plus when my wife has already gone to bed or I'm checking my son. Keeps me from stubbing my toe on something or walking into a door end-on <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> . It is considerably brighter for the first few minutes, then tails off to a longer less-bright level; I'm too lazy to shake it more frequently.

I keep a couple Mag-Lights handy for when I need something brighter. But using the NightStar keeps their batteries fresh. (BTW it's January, my time to annually replace batteries on emergency items whether they need it or not.)

Not to sound like a commercial but the NightStar is the original and the one to get IMO. The repulsion magnets at the ends work much better than the rubber bumpers on others. I think I have the generation 2 model. If the newer Gen-3 ones are brighter as stated in the review to which someone else linked, I might have to get a second one.

Do beware about the strong magnet, though. Last week I noticed my Suunto wrist compass (migrated to my keychain) had REVERSED its magnetization. I bet the shaker flashlight did it.

Lastly I have a crank (actually windup clockwork) FreePlay flashlight, too, and think it's great also, just different. A little heavy/clunky, but it gives a brighter light for a longer time. The shaker flashlights are elegant in a simplistic bulletproof way. I'm leery of the crank flashlights that use rechargeable batteries -- does anyone make a crank flashlight that uses a capacitor like the NightStar?

Steve